Camelot Boarding School
by LoveIsSweetMisery
Summary: When Merlin arrives at Camelot boarding school for boys he thought that it'd just be filled with posh boys and fencing, but little did he know that behind the classrooms and the facade are magical creatures and enemies beyond his wildest dreams. AU, NON SLASH, rated T for action.
1. Chapter 1

**AU: Set in a school...**

**Old fic, made a little better (hopefully!)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin**

* * *

Merlin, aged 16, was not used to boarding schools. They weren't his kind of thing, not really anyway, and he doubted it would be his thing now- not that he was going to do much about it anyway. His 'Uncle' Gaius had already sent provision for him to go, and now it would be time to go from his sleepy village.

"Merlin this is an amazing opportunity." His mother had said. "Camelot school for boys is the best in the country."

His view of the place did not change when he saw the first sights of the building. There was no denying that visually the building was stunning, built with white brick it was a picture of beauty on a cliff face, but the air surrounding it had an feeling of no freedom. Constricting in its very nature, there was no loud noise coming from the building. It was the most beautiful building he had ever seen, and even that could not redeem it.

"I don't like it here." Merlin said quietly to himself.

There was no one there to listen though. His mother hadn't come, too far she said, so instead of having someone there to comfort him he stayed in the presence of a grumpy looking taxi driver in his late forties. He didn't seem to like the place much either.

"Are you new around here?" The taxi driver asked.

"Yes." Merlin answered.

Was it that obvious? If a random taxi driver thought that what would the boys say?

"You can tell." The taxi driver continued. "Not many of the boys stay so quiet in the back."

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

"There all on those new mobile things, never seen the point myself." The taxi driver said back. "Talking about them fancy balls they go to, and all their money oh and of course those fencing and rugby tournaments."

"Fencing?" Merlin said.

It was rather a stupid thing he thought. The taxi driver nodded and rolled his eyes. He was gruff, the sort of folk Merlin was used to in his village, and Merlin Hung on every word he said. He seemed quite perceptive, even if his breath was a little potent.

"I know right old fashioned sport, way past its prime but I guess it suits the headmaster then." The taxi driver said. As they pulled up to the front gate and a grey haired man walked forward the taxi driver turned and whispered to him. "Speak of the devil."

Mr Pendragon was far less imposing in person that he had looked in pictures. He possessed the look of a man who had once had many things in life, but like the lines on his life they had changed with age. He wore a black suit, with a tie of red and yellow, which was tailored to fit his body perfectly. Merlin got out slowly of the car, and was handed his two suitcases.

"You may go now." Mr Pendragon said.

"'Course sir." The taxi driver said, and within moments he drove away.

Mr Pendragon looked Merlin up and down without much satisfaction. Gaius appeared from behind him, his face with a small smile, though of course if you did not know him you would not catch it. He quirked his eyebrow as he saw the lack of luggage.

"Are these all of your things?" Mr Pendragon asked.

"Yes." Merlin replied back before quickly adding. "Sir."

"The tuxedo?" Mr Pendragon asked.

Testing him, his mother had warned him about Mr Pendragon. Mad as a box of frogs Will had told him, but then again Will said a lot of things. Gaius had warned him to watch his manners, but apart from that no glaring warning really.

"Yes sir." Merlin replied.

"The books?"

"Yes sir." Merlin said.

"The sporting equipment?"

Ah...there had to be something that he forgot. He could see Gaius in the background shaking his head slowly in disapproval. Merlin looked back at Mr Pendragon and looked down to avoid the gaze.

"No." Merlin replied back.

"I'm sorry what was that?" Mr Pendragon said loudly.

He already disliked the head teacher, even after trying to go in with an 'open mind' as his mother had told him to. There were the blurred figures of boys behind the window who were openly staring at him, whilst their faces were undistinguishable Merlin could just make out that in front of them all was a blonde haired boy.

"No sir." Merlin said back.

They were laughing behind the window, they were actually laughing, before disappearing away from sight. Merlin, red eared and faced, looked away from the head teacher. Mr Pendragon gave him a nod and said.

"Go to Miss Matthews for room allocation and your time table and the front desk." Mr Pendragon said, before walking over and saying. "Gaius."

"Sir." Gaius said back.

- :) -

Merlin mumbled swear words under his breath and grabbed his things. 'Uncle' Gaius walked along side him, his long coat sweeping across the courtyard. The boys had long since gone, though as they entered through the double doors he could hear their voices from a room down the corridor. As they turned a corner, and the sounds of voices faded, 'Uncle' Gaius began to speak.

"You really do know how to create quite a first impression Merlin." He said.

"It's not my fault, he's out to get me." Merlin said back.

The two walked down another few corridors. There were pictures on each side, some photographic whilst others painted and drawn. Some were more imposing than others, with group photographs of previous grave faced boys from throughout the years, whilst others were more calming. A picture of a great dragon, painted on a large gold framed canvas, stood by the trophy cabinet.

As Merlin turned away from the trophy cabinet he turned around and his suitcase knocked over a vase. As it was about to hit the floor his eyes turned amber and he bent down to catch it. Others would have looked shock, in his experience at least, but Gaius reacted with his usual eyebrow twitch. Merlin put the vase back and turned away.

"What?" Merlin said.

"Your gifts have grown since we last saw each other." Gaius said.

'Gifts', that was an unusual way to say it. Will had always called it his 'thing' (or 'thang' during a thankfully short gangster phase of his) and his mother had always just called it a 'little talent'. Gaius had always been the one who had understood it the most, but even when he said it the emphasis on the word made even Merlin feel a little uncomfortable.

"But I can tell you now that they will not be appreciated here." Gaius continued.

"Why not? They can help people." Merlin said.

"Mr Pendragon has banned all forms of trickery from the school." Gaius said. He looked cautiously on both sides before saying. "On pain of expulsion."

It didn't sound like such a pain to Merlin, getting out of the God forsaken school and back to his brilliant village. Well not brilliant really, it was a bit quiet and the people there were not the most outstanding members of the community, but at least there he had friends. He couldn't imagine befriending anyone who looked like the boys in the picture on the wall.

- :) -

Room 13 was to be where he would be spending the term. He would be in the same dormitory as all of the other 7th years and a few 8th years as well. 'A Good Bunch' Miss Matthews had told him eagerly as she pushed the forms to him over the desk, 'No Mean Ones' she had assured him.

Merlin looked down at his map and tried to navigate his way back through the corridors. As soon as they had reached the main desk Gaius had disappeared, talking about something to do with a guy with 'measles' or who was 'measly'. Merlin never really had been one for listening too carefully.

As he got closer into the dormitories he noticed a lot of boys, stern looking ones of his age and up, patrolling the corridor in red sashes with 'PREFECT' written in large white letters. Not one of them was smiling, instead more imposing with an air of grandeur about them. They laughed amongst themselves but as soon as anyone else came to sight their faces turned to stone. One of them, a younger looking one with longer dirty blonde hair, was something of an exception.

"Are you ok?" He said to Merlin.

"I'm looking for my room." Merlin said back.

"Well I'm afraid you're going the wrong way, the 4th years sleep down that way." He said.

Was he joking? From the grin on his face he might be, but that may have just been his natural expression. The other two didn't seem to be taking much notice, instead more interested in discussing a rugby game, or it could have been a cricket game, Merlin wasn't really that sure.

"I'm actually a 7th year." Merlin said.

"Really?" The dirty blonde haired prefect said. He looked him up and down and smiled. "So you're the one replacing Gwaine then."

"Who's Gwaine?" Merlin asked.

"Ah that's not important." The prefect said back. "Can I see your forms?"

Merlin handed them over, half reluctantly and watched as the prefect scanned his forms. He didn't really show expression much, only the slightest twitches of the corners of his mouth was enough to guess that he was somewhat happy.

"You're a very lucky guy." The prefect said. "You're sharing a room with the head boy."

"Is that good?" Merlin said.

"A lot of guys would give their right arm for it, I would know...I'm one of them. Gives a good advantage with the head if you know what I mean?" The prefect said. He extended his arm for a handshake and said confidently. "I'm Leon."

"Merlin." Merlin replied, shaking his hand eagerly.

Down the corridor and to the right, that's what Leon had been saying. Was he joking though? It was hard to tell with people here. They weren't like the people back home, expressing emotion wasn't something they were good at. Or maybe they were, they just knew how to control it. He guessed he was getting close though. Room 15 was just to the side.

- :) -

As he approached his room he heard noises from inside. Merlin paused for a moment at the door knob, hesitating for one second, before entering. There was a boy, his age at least, holding up a folder as a shield whilst three others, lead by a tall blonde haired boy, chucked pens at him.

"Come on Ben you got to move a bit." The blonde haired boy said. "You're supposed to be a moving target after all."

"No I'm supposed to be tutoring you." Artie said, shielding himself from the flying pens, as the others laughed.

Merlin stepped in and shut the door behind him. This momentarily distracted everyone who turned to face him. Merlin placed down his two suitcases heavily on the floor and walked closer into the situation. Artie looked gratefully at Merlin whilst the others sneered at his arrival.

"I think you've had your fun mate." Merlin said clearly. "Now if you could leave that'd be great."

"I'm not your mate and this is my room." The blonde haired boy said, advancing quickly on him. "And what business of yours is it anyway?"

"This is my room too." Merlin said back.

So this was the head boy? The head bully given responsibility. Merlin wasn't going to like it here, he could tell. Artie took his chance, and using Merlin as a scape goat he quickly went out of the way. The head boy walked up to him and raised one eyebrow.

"I could take you apart with one blow." He said.

"I could take you apart with less than that." Merlin said back.

The head boy chuckled and walked away from him. Merlin let out a sigh of relief and made his way to what he presumed to be his bed. As he did so he noticed that the head boy was pulling out a box and retrieved two fencing swords. Merlin got up and looked at them.

"What's wrong?" The head boy asked. "All words, no action?"

The head boy held out the fencing sword to him and Merlin took it reluctantly. The head boy looked him in the eyes and held out his sword as they did in the movies. Merlin tried not to laugh, and mimic the smirk on the head boy's face.

"You've got to be joking." Merlin said.

"I never joke about fencing." The head boy said.

The head boy advanced towards him and lunged towards him. Merlin ducked and the fencing sword pierced through one of the cushions, leaking feathers as it went. Merlin looked open eyed at the pillow whilst the others laughed.

"And if I refuse?" He said.

"You won't." The head boy replied.

Merlin blocked one of his attacks with minimal ease. He staggered up and looked at the boy. The others laughed heartily at the scene. This was all a joke...a joke?

"Who do you think you are? The head teacher?" Merlin said.

"Not quite." The head boy said back. "But I am his son Arthur."

This was bad.

The blade moments away from his chest, Merlin looked up at Arthur. He wasn't going to kill him that would be illegal, at least he thought that. But there would be some humiliation- that was undeniable. The sound of the door handle cracked ever so slightly and all of the boys in the room turned to face it. Mr Pendragon, the head teacher, walked in, his eyes livid and unblinking.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Mr Pendragon said.

"Father..." Arthur said quickly, dropping his sword.

"My office." Mr Pendragon shouted. "Both of you."

- :) -

Merlin and Arthur stood in the pouring rain with litter pickers in their hands. The waterproof coats provide by Mr Pendragon were bright red with the school emblem bang in the middle. This wasn't community service, not in the least bit, this was ritual humiliation. Several teenagers went past them sniggering as they went. Merlin attempted to cover his face whilst Arthur just gave them snide looks.

"Does your dad normally do this?" Merlin asked.

"Shut up Merlin." He replied.

Despite the rain the town was well populated by teenagers. Presumably another local college was having its lunch break, or maybe they had broken up for the day. They dropped litter liberally, which either Merlin or Arthur picked up reluctantly. Merlin's ears glowed with red tips as a group of giggling girls passed.

"What have we here then?" The girl in front, with dark flowing hair said. "A Camelot boy picking up other people's rubbish? How the mighty fall."

"Morgana." Arthur said, nodding his head in acknowledgement. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I could ask you the same question." She said.

Morgana turned away from Arthur, flashing a smile as she went, and turned a full circle to face Merlin. She smiled at him, and put one finely manicure hand on his shoulder, whilst her other one held up a black lace umbrella, shielding them from the rain.

"Don't listen to him." She said. "He's always been too big for his own boots."

She then gave him a little kiss on his cheek before walking away. A girl in the back, with curly dark hair, gave him a shy smile before following them quickly. Merlin stood with a dopey smile on his face staring after them. Arthur hit him in the back of the legs and Merlin turned to face him.

"What are you looking at?" Arthur asked.

"Nothing." He replied.

"Good, she's a Pendragon you know." Arthur said.

Was there anyone in this town that wasn't a Pendragon, or anyone who wasn't at least a massive fan of them? Merlin rolled his eyes and the two boys stood in an uncomfortable silence for another hour. Their community service had to be over soon, this was ridiculous, there were even more teenagers now.

- :) -

Two teenage boys by the corner of the street were quickly advancing on a young boy with raven hair. They were mugging him, mugging him in daylight. Merlin tried to shuffle away, call the police or something but the precious head boy had other ideas.

"Excuse me Merlin." Arthur said.

"No..." Merlin said, reaching out to pull him back.

Arthur walked over to them with his usual pompous stride. Merlin did want to help him, but his innate desire to have all of his limbs was pulling him back. The two thugs were just grabbing the boy's phone as Arthur tapped on the tallest shoulder.

"Unhand him." Arthur said.

"Oh don't kill me..."The tall one said, laughing openly. "What are you going to do about it Camelot boy?"

Arthur extended his litter picker and held it to the tall boy's chest. The tall boy dropped the boy and his phone. The raven haired boy scrambled, got his phone, and hid quickly around the corner without so much as a thank you. The two boys laughed at Arthur, not even bothering to cover up their humour.

"Oh I'm so scared!" The short one said.

"You should be." Arthur said.

Arthur twirled around his litter picker and hit the big one on the face, knocking him to the ground. The other one began to lunge for him. As they though several more came to join him from left, right and centre. Merlin looked in horror as they began to get surrounded.

Merlin moved a discarded crate with his magic, tripping over two of the boys, which luckily went unnoticed. Arthur was surrounded there must have been at least six of them, or five and one giant. He was doing well, for now, but he was starting to get hit a lot more.

A boy on roller blades skated over, his face unshaven and long brown hair skimming over his shoulders. On his left hand shoulder hung a leather satchel with several badges of motorcycle gangs stitched crudely onto it. He pushed down the bag and skated over to Merlin. He pointed to his litter picker.

"Hand me that." The brown haired guy said.

"Who are you?" Merlin asked, handing it over gladly.

"Oh wouldn't you like to know." The brown haired guy replied.

The brown haired guy twirled around and made his way to the fight. He tapped one of the larger ones on the shoulder and gave him a dashing smile. The fight stopped for a moment as they all laughed at him. Arthur in the middle, was surrounded, and could not see anything.

"This is your back up?" The tall one laughed.

"Well that's not very nice is it?" The brown haired guy said.

He smacked the tall guy around the face with a litter picker, knocking him flat over. He skated around them, litter picker low, tripping them over as he went. A large one came towards him, running in for a full rugby tackle. Gwaine jumped on top of him, holding on for a piggy back, as he span around.

"Oh I forgot the fun of hanging around with you princess." He said loudly as he knocked the person to the ground.

Arthur ducked to avoid the tall guy's punch and rolled him over. People were starting to crowd around now, Morgana taking a front row seat. They ducked and weaved the punches, taking them out as a good pair. Arthur picked up Gwaine and span him around, the wheels of his blades hitting all remaining standing guys to the ground. Those who could ran away, and those couldn't simply staggered. The crowd cheered.

- :) -

"Go on then!" The brown haired guy shouted. "Run..."

"What the hell are you doing here Gwaine?" Arthur asked.

Gwaine smiled back at him, taking a bow. He chucked the litter picker back to Merlin and hooked up his own satchel. Taking out a large apple, he took a bite and grinned. Arthur rolled his eyes and began to walk away from the crowd.

"Not even a thank you?" Gwaine said, skating after him. "Well that's typical of the brilliant and bold head girl."

"I told you not to call me that." Arthur said, turning back to him.

"Sorry Princess." Gwaine said back.

Gwaine skated around Arthur in mini circles, like a vulture to a dead carcass. Merlin followed them closely, not liking the prospect of being alone if the group of boys ever came back. Arthur sniffed twice, and upon smelling gin, turned to face Gwaine.

"Are you drunk?" Arthur asked.

"Depends what time is it?" Gwaine replied tossing the apple up and down, before chucking it into the bin.

"It's four in the afternoon." Arthur said.

"Then yes I most certainly am." Gwaine said, retrieving a bottle of gin, and holding it up. "Do you want a bit?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and continued to walk on. Gwaine laughed and took a large gulp himself, he held it out to Merlin with a large smile on his face. Merlin too shook his head, though he looked far less disapprovingly at the boy.

"Bit early for me." Merlin replied.

"All for me then." Gwaine said. "So what are you doing with Princess Arthur...sorry I don't know your name?"

"Merlin." Merlin said.

"Gwaine, pleased to meet you." Gwaine said to him, shaking his head. Three police officers got out of their car on the other side of the town centre, just in sight, with their sirens sounding out. Gwaine smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Sorry would love to stay and chat, but that's my cue to leave."

He turned around and skated furiously in the other direction. The three police officers noticed him, and ran quickly towards him. Arthur sighed and turned away from the scene but Merlin watched on in humour laughing loudly at Gwaine skating in between two elderly women in their two mobility scooters.

Maybe he would like this place after all.

The young boy with raven hair looked at him from around the corner. His eyes piercing into Merlin's calm. There was something strange about the boy- something that was not quite right about him.

"You've made a big mistake Emrys." A voice said, a voice of a little boy, but his lips unmoving. "You will curse the day you rescued me."

Well that was weird...

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**Thank you for reading :)**

**LISM :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Merlin still...  
**

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Arthur walked towards the school, and Merlin followed. Their duty wasn't over, as Mr Pendragon had said that their duty wasn't overt till he came back. Merlin pondered his choice for a second and then thought following the head boy should lead to less punishment...or hopefully just punishment that didn't involve litter pickers.

"So who was that then?" Merlin asked breaking the silence.

"That was Gwaine." Arthur replied back. "He was one of Camelot's finest, until he decided he was too good for it."

"Well I think he seems like a laugh." Merlin said,.

"Of course you do Merlin." Arthur said back to him. "You're an idiot."

- :) -

Dinner that night was quite an experience. Merlin sat with three other boys, who he didn't quite know the names of, but he did know that one had ginger hair, one was rather spotty and the other looked like a blond Harry Potter. Across the room sat Arthur with Leon and the other prefects all wearing their red sashes. They laughed loudly, did impressions and duelled each other with their steak knives. The room was notably absent of teachers, leaving one empty long table at the front, meaning that Merlin wouldn't see Gaius that night.

"Oh I wish I was a prefect." The ginger boy on his right said. "They're so cool!"

Merlin turned and noticed that the people on his table weren't the only others in awe of them. Even hating Arthur as much as he did, didn't prevent Merlin from admiring him a little. Arthur commanded everyone with a strange authority, and even the 8th years looked up to him.

"Oh my God, Morgana's come down." The spotty boy on his left said.

Morgana swept through the dining room, smiling as she went, and took her place between Arthur and Leon. Even wearing a baggy jumper with jeans she managed to command the attention of every boy in the room. The boys on Arthur's table were less enthralled with her, and instead seemed to treat her as a friend, even going so far to do imitations of her by flicking their hair (Percival struggled more than the others).

"What's she doing here?" Merlin asked. "I thought this was a boy's school."

"She lives here." The ginger boy whispered to him. "She's Mr Pendragon's adopted daughter, and Arthur's sister."

- :) -

Merlin walked into his room and sat on his bed. Looking out the window, and out onto the cliff face he relished in the relative quietness. He wasn't quite what to make of the place, but he was certain that there was no other student that he would want to befriend. The silence did not last as it was interrupted as Arthur walked into the room and flung himself onto the bed. Merlin raised his eyebrows as he looked in his direction, and Arthur stared back.

"What in God's name are you looking at Merlin?" He asked.

"Nothing." Merlin replied, his eyes snapping back to the wall.

Arthur rolled his eyes and kicked off his shoes, as Merlin scanned the wall. He noticed that on Arthur's side of the room there were several pictures of himself and the other prefects at rugby matches, stuck up. They ranged from him looking young, twelve at the most, to a picture that must have only been taken last team.

"So you're on the rugby team as well then?" Merlin asked, to make conversation.

"Well observed Merlin." Arthur said. "And we actually need a few substitutes. Guess who I put on the list?"

"Who?" Merlin asked.

- :) -

Looking back Merlin realized that it was a very stupid question, this Merlin realized as he stood on the rugby field with his knees knocking together as he shivered from the breeze surrounded by several larger rugby players. He was not the only new recruit as two others stood beside him, though they too overshadowed in both mass and height. The one with a slight lisp was called Joel Kimble, and Merlin guessed that he would be the second worst, whilst the other new recruit Howard Valiant looked as if he had been playing for years. Merlin had a feeling that this was the wrong place for somebody like him to be.

"Alright lads we're going to get straight into a game, no warm ups, no pouncing about, and no crying- this ain't football you know." The coach barked as he strode up and down the line.

This definitely was the wrong place for him to be.

The coach approached the other two first, and battered their egos substantially. He had taunted Joel for his lisp, and had battered the ego of Howard for his 'girly' ankles. The other members of the team laughed along to his cruel jokes, all except Merlin who stayed straight faced hoping that somehow he would blend into the background, but as always Merlin failed miserably at that.

"Who is this?" The coach barked, turning to Arthur.

"Merlin, he's one of Gwaine's replacements." Arthur said back.

"This is supposed to replace Gwaine? The strongest guy on this God forsaken team could be replaced with this? Really!" The coach shouted and then turned to Merlin. "I mean look at him..."

"I'm stronger than I look." Merlin said.

The rest of the team laughed, with the other two new recruits joining in, clearly they didn't agree with his idea of sticking together. The coach was furiously red in the face with his hair sticking up like a twisted character of a person as he moved closer to him. Merlin looked up and gulped.

"Ok sunshine, move me." The coach said.

"What?" Merlin said.

"I said move me, tackle me, come on boy!" The coach shouted.

"You're kidding right?" Merlin said.

- :) -

Merlin got knocked to the ground, at least ten times during that training, and Joel suffered a similar fate. All of the other guys on the rugby team were animals, and none more so than Howard who managed to knock out Elyan within the first half. The others gathered around, horrified by the brutality of the attack, but the coach had no such problems.

"Brilliant." He said clapping Howard on the back. "Just the kind of animal strength we need."

"I think we should get Gaius." Merlin said, as he crouched down by Elyan. "He may have a concussion."

"Well of course you'd say that sunshine." The coach said that. "Boys like you practically faint when you even come close to the ground."

"No seriously coach I think he's really hurt." Another member of the rugby club said, and all others nodded in agreement.

Although it annoyed Merlin that it took another person to say it for people to listen he was glad for the help of the boy. The boy was tall, but not as tall as the others, and had black wavy hair which was around the same length as Gwaine's, and he had the respect of all others, even Arthur.

"Fine go and get Gaius then." The coach said, complaining as if it were an inconvenience.

Gaius came quicker than expected and bent down to look at Elyan. Elyan had come to a little, but was still a little disorientated as Gaius attempted to communicate with him. Gaius looked up at the coach and shook his head, meaning that he did not give permission for Elyan to carry on playing and the coach threw his hands up in the air.

"He needs to come to my office." Gaius said to the coach. "Could I borrow two of your players to help support him?"

"I'll go." The dark hair boy volunteered.

"Me too." Leon said.

"No no I can't lose two good players." The coach said, and then turned to Merlin. "Go on then sunshine, redeem yourself."

- :) -

The dark haired boy helped Elyan up and slung Elyan's left arm over his shoulder. The right arm, left free, Merlin slung over his shoulder and the three rugby players followed Gaius into the building. Gaius was a few steps ahead of them, muttering about the coach, leaving the two fully conscious boys to speak.

"My name's Lancelot by the way." Lancelot said, extending his free arm.

"I'm Merlin." Merlin said shaking his hand.

"Ah so not Sunshine then." Lancelot said with a smile. Merlin grimaced, and Lancelot comforted him with. "Don't worry I was called pretty boy for the first two terms and Elyan here was called bone idol, weren't you mate?"

Elyan replied with a groan, and the weight on their shoulders suddenly was far heavier. Merlin struggled and stumbled as the weight became too much for him, but he was saved by Lancelot who shifted Elyan's weight more to his side.

"What the hell did he do to you?" Lancelot said, as he heaved him up.

"Isn't this kind of injury common?" Merlin asked, straightening himself up.

"Not like this." Lancelot said. "Normally they're a bit woozy but at least they can walk."

By the time they had arrived to Gaius's office Elyan was well and truly out of it. Lancelot had taken his full weight but flinging him over his shoulder, and then delicately placed his friend onto Gaius's bed. Him and Merlin stepped back and watched on as Gaius began to tend to him, and after a few needles, and thermometers were drawn out and used he turned to Lancelot.

- :) -

"I haven't seen an injury like this from rugby before." Gaius said. "Tell me are there any snakes on the field?"

"I've seen a grass snake once or twice but nothing major." Lancelot said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because he's been bitten." Gaius said, turning over Elyan's wrist showing two large fang marks.

The two boys leant closer and nodded. Lancelot left a few minutes later, excusing himself to go and tell the other members of the team how Elyan was doing, leaving Merlin to sit awkwardly at the side as Gaius made Elyan comfortable. After a few minutes Elyan was fully unconscious, leaving Merlin to speak freely.

"Will he be ok Gaius?" Merlin said.

"I'm sure he'll make a full recovery but I don't think he'll be on his feet for some time." Gaius said, packing up his things. "It's lucky he was brought up so quickly otherwise we wouldn't be so lucky."

"Are there many poisonous snakes in this area?" Merlin asked.

"Well if there are then I have encountered them." Gaius said.

"Maybe that's because they weren't there before." Merlin said.

Gaius looked up from Elyan and turned to face Merlin. He raised his eyebrow in a way that only Gaius could, before he shook his head and began to tidy away his stuff. Merlin got out of his seat, moving closer and Gaius mumbled.

"What do you mean Merlin?"

"Well the guy he was tackled by, Howard, seemed very desperate to be on the team..." Merlin said quietly. "Everyone could see it."

"You aren't suggesting that Mr Valiant set the snake on Elyan?" Gaius said.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting Gaius." Merlin said.

Gaius turned to him, looking to see whether there was anyone around before he spoke. He was quiet, almost fearful as he spoke, as he kept his eyes firmly planted on the door.

"I grant you there was something odd about it but you can't just go around accusing people, especially not somebody whose father is a large benefactor of the school."

"You know I'm right Gaius." Merlin said.

"I never said you weren't." Gaius said, returning his gaze to Merlin. The bell rung in the background, and Gaius's face returned to normal and said. "There's the bell, you better go before you get a detention."

- :) -

The next morning Merlin sat and ate breakfast by himself. It was nice to eat a meal without anybody there, and for once those at Arthur's table were keeping quiet. Merlin thought for a moment that maybe they were quiet because of Elyan, but he soon realized it was because of the amount of food they were eating. He had never thought it was possible to eat that much, especially Percival who had already consumed three full English breakfasts and was preparing to get his fourth.

"Can I sit with you?" A voice said.

Merlin turned around to see Lancelot holding a full breakfast. Merlin was confused, wondering whether Lancelot was confusing him with somebody else, or if it were a joke or something, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Be my guest." Merlin said.

"Thank you." Lancelot said taking the seat next to Merlin. "Sorry but the way those guys eat their food, it's enough to put you off eating for life."

Lancelot had piled his plate high with eggs, sausages, beans and bacon which looked monstrous in comparison to Merlin's solitary slice of toast. As he engulfed it at an aggressive (but not inelegant) manner Merlin sat there in silence at a loss of what to say to the boy. By the looks of him he doubted that they would have anything in common, so he drew on the only topic that he knew the two shared.

"You gone to see Elyan again?" Merlin asked.

"Yeah I saw him again just before lights out." Lancelot said, pausing from eating. "He was still pretty out of it. Must have been a pretty awful snake bite."

"Yeah must have been..." Merlin said.

His eyes wandered over to Howard who was staring out of the window. There was something sinister about him, even when he was doing the most innocent things possible. Lancelot noticed Merlin looking at him and interjected in with.

"Valiant hasn't going to see him."

"Oh..." Merlin said, looking back at Lancelot.

"It's pretty bad isn't it?" Lancelot said. "I mean if you put a lad in the sick bay you go and see him. It's basic rules of courtesy really..."

Merlin nodded in agreement, but ate a chunk of his toast to stop him saying anything he would regret, after all he didn't know Lancelot that well (even if he was the closest thing to a friend Merlin had in this place). Lancelot shovelled in a few more mouthfuls of sausage and beans before he continued.

"So what were you doing at rugby practice anyway?" He said. "Forgive me, but you don't really seem like the type."

"It wasn't voluntary." Merlin said.

"Oh Arthur signed you up?" Lancelot said. "Don't worry he did the same thing to Gwaine, but I think you responded far better."

A large smirk crossed Lancelot's face suggesting to Merlin that he was reminiscing. It didn't surprise Merlin that Gwaine would respond badly, it seemed more puzzling that Gwaine would have ever fit in at all in the constricting environment of Camelot school.

"How did Gwaine respond?" Merlin asked.

"I don't know if you'd want to hear it just after eating." Lancelot said. "I'll have to tell you some over time."

On Arthur's table there was a commotion, as they all began to realize that one of their own had broken free of the pack. Lancelot was seemingly ignorant of this, and continued to eat his breakfast happily whilst Merlin nibbled on his toast anxiously. Arthur finally stuck out his head, and looked through Merlin directly to Lancelot.

"Lance come over here!" Arthur shouted.

"In a minute." Lancelot shouted back, not looking up from his breakfast.

Lancelot finished his breakfast quickly and smirked at Merlin. Rolling his eyes he got out of his seat and slapped Merlin on the back. He shook his head and signalled over to Arthur who was busy chanting 'Lance, Lance, Lance'.

"Don't let him fool you." Lancelot said. "He's actually an alright guy when you get to know him."

"Care to bet on that?" Merlin said leading Lancelot to laugh as he walked away. Merlin returned to staring suspiciously at Howard Valiant, waiting for him to slip up.

- :) -

In one of his frees Merlin snuck off by himself to find out more about Howard Valiant. He knew that Gaius had warned him off it, but there was something not quite right about him. He knew that perhaps it was delusions caused by his lack of normal human contact but he just needed to find out more (hopefully without being detected). Luckily for him a perfect diversion came in the form of Arthur and Percival fencing each other with the fire pokers, meaning that even his friends from dinner didn't notice he was gone.

He snuck down the corridors, past a few classes, and down the west wing of the rooms. Howard was in the year below them, meaning that his room was far enough away that if Merlin was caught there was no excuse for him being there. He stopped at room 21, and looked both ways before entering.

Howard had been granted one of the few solo rooms for those in 6th year due to his father's lofty connections. The room itself was in a mess, with clothes and other assorted items scattered on the floor meaning that Merlin didn't really need to cover his tracks. He waded through all of the rubbish, and looked around for any clues.

On his chest of draws there were several cans of deodorant and empty beer cans scattered over the surface. Merlin didn't see Howard as the party type, leading him to believe that the beer had been consumed alone, and in mass. Amongst them though was a pair of socks which Howard had worn in rugby practice.

As Merlin attempted to shove it over he heard a hiss coming from them. He stopped, and picked up one of the socks. There, as clear as day was a snake head made of cotton reaching out from it. He let out a yell and threw it down. There was a snake coming out, a real snake coming out, which soon retreated. It confused Merlin for a second why it had gone.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?" Howard Valiant shouted.

That would be why...

- :) -

Merlin was pulled out of Howard's room a few minutes later, and decided to be liberal with the truth as he told Mr Pendragon that he had been in the room because he was lost. In hindsight that probably wasn't the smartest answer, and if anything was what led him to be sitting in the detention hall accompanied by a very grumpy Gaius.

"So I tell you not to directly accuse Mr Valiant and instead you go and break into his room." Gaius said. "I rather fear you missed the point Merlin."

"There's something suspicious about him." Merlin said.

Gaius rolled his eyes and sighed whilst Merlin stared forward defiantly. Gaius waited for a moment before being further frustrated by Merlin's totally unapologetic response to the whole situation. He however spoke calmly, because that was just Gaius's way.

"I grant you he is suspicious, but of all ways to uncover it you chose to barge into his room. Tell me Merlin do you have no sense?" Gaius said. "You are lucky you are still here, Mr Pendragon wanted you expelled."

"Well let him, I don't belong here anyway." Merlin said.

"Goodbye Merlin." Gaius said, leaving Merlin on his own.

- :) -

Merlin sat in the detention room for ten more minutes. With an absence of things to do he began to think about how he was going to uncover the trickery of Howard Valiant. There was a moment where he thought he had it, but his stream of thought cut short when a long haired maiden entered the room. Morgana swept in, her eyes gleaming with mischief, and she stroked Merlin's shoulder before sitting next to him.

"You sure get into trouble a lot Sunshine..." Morgana said, and upon Merlin's failure to respond she said. "What, going to ignore me?"

"Mr Pendragon said I was to sit here in silence." Merlin said with his eyes to the front.

"And you always do what Mr Pendragon says?" Morgana said. "You'd be the only one if you do."

Merlin stared forward. She would eventually get bored and he would be back to thinking of a plan to take down the large rugby player. He needed to trick him into revealing his trickery to the whole school. Maybe if he took a picture he could show it, but then he would need to hide his phone or a camera during rugby practice. All of these thoughts came to a halt when Morgana began to speak again.

"So why did you break into his room anyway?" Morgana asked.

"I was lost." Merlin said.

"That's a pathetic lie." Morgan said. "Don't they lie where you come from?"

Merlin chose not to respond to that, because that was an utter lie, but he just continued to look straight. Surely Morgana had more important things to do with her time than annoy him endlessly, after all there was still an hour of school left

"It wasn't anything perverted was it?" Morgana asked.

"NO!" Merlin said quickly, turning to face her angrily.

"Just checking..." Morgana said. "I've never trusted that Howard boy, has always had something creepy about him ever since he came six months ago."

"So he's new then?" Merlin asked.

"So that's how I get you to talk." Morgana said. "Yes he's new, and hasn't made any friends but then again boys like him never do, see he's the strong and silent type as well."

Another bell rung and hawds of boys moved outside in the corridor. Morgana's eyebrows twitched and she walked got out of her chair. A smirk swept across her face and she stroked Merlin's shoulder as she walked past him and towards the door.

"Oh I better go." She said. "Catch you later Sunshine."

"The name's Merlin." Merlin said.

"Sunshine suits you better." Morgana said, before she disappeared out of the room.

- :) -

That night, whilst in bed with only Arthur's snoring as company, Merlin lay awake unable to sleep though not through lack of trying. His eyes skated along the perfectly plastered ceiling, looking to see if he could find a single crack.

"Merlin..." A voice called out.

Merlin got up and sat in his bed. He looked to Arthur, to see if it was just him putting on a voice, but the boy remained snoring in his bed. Merlin got up and looked around, a torch by his side for protection.

"Merlin..." The voice said again.

Merlin looked around before following it slowly. He walked out of the room, easing its shutting so it did not wake up Arthur, and crept down the corridors. The voice called out to him again, once, twice and then a third time. He made his way down until he got to the picture of the dragon which had intrigued him before.

"Merlin." It said.

Merlin stumbled back and dropped his torch on the floor, cracking it so that he was immersed in darkness. A flame came from the picture and the light bulbs lit up, and the dragon in the picture looked at him. Merlin, without words to say, just stared at him.

"I was wondering how long it would take you." The dragon said.

* * *

**See managed to get Killgarah in there! Think that's everyone important introduced now so we're sorted.**

**Thank you for reading **

**LISM**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**VERY SORRY FOR THE DELAY- Blooming exams :'(**

**Disclaimer: Still no own Merlin**

* * *

Merlin stumbled back from the painting and looked up. The dragon in the painting appeared bored as it swayed back and forth on its rock, its eyes ever looking at Merlin. Merlin picked up his torch and shone it at the painting as he retained his distance.

"No, this can't be happening." He mumbled and sat to himself.

"Oh but it is young one." The dragon said calmly. "Come sit and talk to me."

"I think I'm alright here thanks." Merlin said back.

"We must talk Merlin." The dragon replied, and this turn he was a little sterner.

Merlin sighed and took a seat leaning on the wall opposite of the painting. The dragon too took his seat and studied Merlin looking him up and down. Merlin was very conscious that his pyjamas were a few sizes too small and his ankles were exposed greatly, then quickly afterwards he realized that his priorities were perhaps a bit off.

"So the talking dragon wants to talk to me...interesting very interesting." Merlin said, before his head fell into his hands and he said. "Oh God, I knew this would happen, I've gone mad haven't I?"

"No madder than you were when you entered." The dragon said, and Merlin raised his head as the dragon continued. "Strange, you are so small for somebody with such a large destiny."

"I didn't know the paintings did careers here." Merlin said and half heartedly laughed.

"You puzzle me young warlock." The dragon replied.

Merlin's eyebrows shot up and a knowing smile graced his face. 'Warlock' eh? It was that word which triggered an immediate response from him. He got up and looked both ways down the corridor, before walking around checking around all of the corners for any signs of life as he said.

"Oh I see it's a practical joke. Ok guys you got me, I fell for it, ha ha the magnificent prefects did it again."

"I assume by one of the prefects you mean Arthur Pendragon." The dragon replied.

"Yes Arthur I do mean you." Merlin called out again.

"Who are you speaking to Merlin, it is only you and I here." The dragon replied. "You are powerful Merlin, but as of recent you have been so without reason, but you have reason young one. It is your destiny Merlin to protect him from the dangers that lurk these halls."

"And what dangers would those be?" Merlin said.

"The dangers of magic...you have witnessed it yourself." The dragon replied.

Then it clicked. Everything was connected. His gifts, Gaius's sudden wanting of him in the school, the attacks on the rugby team, everything made sense. Merlin stopped and looked directly at the dragon and he said quietly.

"Howard Vailant."

"Exactly, he means to kill Arthur in practice." The dragon said. "You know this Merlin."

Then Merlin suddenly became a little more tensed and thought a little to himself. He knew what the dragon was implying, and he didn't know how happy was about it. All of the things Arthur had done to him over the past few days, the way he sneered, suddenly him being out of the picture wasn't so awful, and a small darkness came over Merlin.

"And why should I protect him?" Merlin said. "Hell if anybody wants to kill him I'd more than happily help." Merlin said vindictively.

"I think you know that isn't true." The dragon replied.

- :) -

Merlin mulled over his talk with the dragon at breakfast. After having spoken for a little longer with the dragon, he retreated back quickly and hid under his sheet. He knew this was juvenile, but he felt safer, more sheltered from the strange place which was Camelot school for boys. It was a place filled with sports, prefects and apparently now magical paintings which talked about destiny. He was soon joined by Lancelot who noticed Merlin's lack of concentration.

"You seem distracted this morning." Lancelot said. "Is it because of Elyan?"

Elyan had taken a turn for the worse during the night, and in the morning the boys of Camelot school watched from their window as he was stretchered into an ambulance. They of course were ushered away from the windows and to the breakfast room but that did not stop anybody talking about it.

"Yeah I'm scared they'll play me now." Merlin said jokingly.

"Don't worry Merlin..." Lancelot said. "Coach would never let that happen to the team."

The two laughed, but then were cut off suddenly by the appearance of a very grumpy head boy sitting down at their table. His plate was only half piled with various fried pieces of meat, and Arthur scooped a forkful and shoved it into his mouth. He did not greet the other two but instead stared at the prefect table, which strangely had the addition of Howard.

"Arthur?" Lancelot said. "Why have you come over here?"

"What? Am I not good enough to sit at your little table?" Arthur said, his eyes snapping back to his friend.

"But you always sit at the prefect table." Merlin said.

"Well observed _Merlin_, would you like a gold star?" Arthur replied.

"Howard getting you down?" Merlin asked, looking at the table. Arthur scoffed and put three more forkfuls of food into his mouth.

"No he's not getting me down _Merlin_, it's just he's..." He said, with a mouthful of meat.

"A slimy toe rag who isn't fit to go to this school." Lancelot interrupted.

Merlin looked at Lancelot and for once he was speechless. It was not only what he said, it was also the way he said it, his voice didn't change at all but instead he said it with the same calm tone which Merlin had become accustomed too. Arthur didn't respond though, he was too busy glaring at Howard.

"That about sums it up." Arthur said miserably. "Well observed Lancelot."

"Pleasure." Lancelot said in response.

- :) –

The coach called the rugby team down for a meeting in one of the ground floor classrooms. The boys struggled to all fit in as it was a first year room meaning the chairs were not stable enough to accommodate the weight of larger players such as Percival. Many of them leant against the surface on the back, but a few tried to squeeze into one of the chairs. Merlin sat on a chair by the corner quite comfortably, with Lancelot and Arthur behind him.

"Now boys we're one man down, but we're still going win this thing!" The coach said from the front of the classroom. "Vailant, you're going to replace Elyan as Centre..."

Many of the team cheered, but in the corner things were far less cheery. Merlin turned back and saw that neither of Lancelot nor Arthur attempted to hide their disgust. Arthur licked his lips and pouted profusely, whilst Lancelot stared straight at Howard.

"That's ridiculous." He said.

- :) -

Arthur's anger did not subside over time and that afternoon after their final lesson he threw his school bag at the wall. Merlin held up a hardback book to shield himself from the shower of pencils, and watched Arthur as he paced up and down the room.

"I can't believe coach has played him in the team, he's completely inexperienced." He ranted. "There are plenty of second teamers who could have taken his place. Like the guy with the lisp..J..J..Josh?"

"Joel." Merlin replied.

"Yes Jacob that's it." Arthur said. "But no he chooses that complete animal Vailant."

Merlin's brain clicked and he sat down on his bed. It was an idea, not brilliant perhaps but it could work, and his 'destiny' would be fulfilled. He looked at Arthur, so angry and somewhat isolated, and realized now was one of the few times that he could be slightly guided.

"Maybe you should sit it out, you know as a kind of protest." Merlin said.

"What on earth are you talking about Merlin?" Arthur asked, turning to him.

"You know show the team won't stand by it." Merlin replied. "It's sure to work."

"You really don't get sports do you?" Arthur said, returning to his pacing. "You can't just sit out when there's a game on."

Perhaps not. Merlin sighed and laid down on his bed and began to flick through one of his new comic books. Arthur continued to rant at Merlin about Howard and came up with several insults about him. Merlin nodded occasionally and even said 'yeah' or 'you're right' once in a while to pretend he was listening. However Arthur was interrupted by a knock at the door and Lancelot's head popping in.

"Merlin...Gaius wants you." He said.

- :) –

Merlin knocked on Gaius's door before entering. The room was a little more disorganized than usual (and that was saying something), and sheets of paper covered the bed where Elyan had once laid. On the floor there were several boxes filled with oddities and Gaius was perched on a chair at the back studying a large text book. Merlin cleared his throat to get Gaius's attention, and the old doctor turned to face him.

"Uh, somebody said you wanted me sir." Merlin said.

"Indeed I did Merlin, please take a seat." Gaius said gesturing at the chair at the corner.

"Can I ask why?" Merlin asked.

Merlin stood staring at Gaius. The warmth he felt for his old family friend was gone, and he couldn't help but feel a little betrayed by the old man. It wasn't that he didn't share the same view because Merlin felt that Gaius suspected Howard too, but it was his lack of help. Gaius sighed and got out of his chair, to look closer at Merlin.

"I understand why you are angry with me Merlin, but you have to understand you need to be careful in the way you conduct yourself." He said.

"How else am I supposed to conduct myself?" Merlin said angrily. "I have no way of doing anything else."

"No there is another way...but I tried to tell myself you were too young for it." Gaius said wearily, and turned to his desk.

"I'm not a child Gaius, I need to protect Arthur." Merlin said.

"I was worried you would say that." Gaius said. "Well I have one solution..."

Gaius grabbed the large book he had been reading and passed it to Merlin. It was leather bound, and of by the look of it, but what took Merlin back the most was the weight of it. As he took it from Gaius Merlin dropped it slightly before holding it. He studied it before looking up.

"What is this?" Merlin said.

"A way to channel your gifts properly." Gaius said, opening it to the first page. "Keep it in my room though, we don't want Arthur catching you with that!"

- :) –

When Merlin returned a few minutes later Arthur and Lancelot were sat on opposite beds studying the school manual. Merlin shut the door loudly, causing both of them to look up. Lancelot smiled at him and then returned to reading but Arthur was far less happy at being disturbed.

"Where in God's name have you been?" Arthur asked.

"Gaius's room." Merlin said. "It was literally five minutes ago."

"I don't have time to listen to your chitter chatter Merlin, some of us have more important things to do with our time." Arthur said. "Now Lancelot what does the school code say?"

"There's nothing we can do to get him off the team." Lancelot grumbled, putting the manual down beside him. "Technically there's nothing he's done wrong."

- :) –

Merlin came to Gaius's room after dinner and hunched himself over the back desk. The book was large, at least a thousand pages long and he flicked through the pages aimlessly. Gaius kept himself busy sorting out the other papers, as Merlin spoke to him.

"Magical snakes in inanimate objects...what would you look up? Magical? Snake? Inanimate objects?" He said.

"Try enchanted objects." Gaius answered.

Merlin looked at the contents and then the index. He sighed as he saw a list of pages and turned to Gaius in exasperation.

"There's like fifty pages on enchanted objects." "Have you ever thought about updating this into I don't know, a database or something?"

Gaius raised his eyebrow in a way Gaius could, and that silenced Merlin immediately.

-:)-

The next morning at breakfast Lancelot and Merlin weren't joined by Arthur. He had refused to come down when Merlin had asked him and instead had stormed off to go and speak to his father about the rugby situation. The two friends enjoyed the relative peace until they were interrupted by another, far more feminine, Pendragon.

"Hello Morgana, what are you doing here?" Lancelot asked her.

"My dad's out tonight." She said.

"Really?" Lancelot asked. "After last time?"

"Yeah and you know what that means." She said. "Party in my quarters , eleven o'clock, you up for it?"

"Yeah I'm up for that." Lancelot said.

"And what about you sunshine?" She asked Merlin.

Merlin winced at his new found nickname. It had spread so quickly to the rugby team that the teachers were almost going to call him that. Even his fan club had started calling him that, through fear of being looking down upon if they didn't join in with the group. Only Lancelot appeared not to join in and for that he was grateful.

"Maybe." Merlin said.

"Oh come on, don't be such a stick in the mud." She said. "They'll be loads of girls there, or boys if they are more of your thing."

Merlin cleared his throat and in his deepest voice said.

"No..no..no girls are good."

"Ok then, I'll see you both there." She said walking away from them. "Dress pretty for me boys."

"She's a nightmare." Lancelot said, shaking his head and laughing before returning to his breakfast.

That night, with Lancelot by his side, Merlin entered Morgana's quarters. Music, cigarette smoke and alcohol fumes filled the air making it hard to see the whole room clearly. It was big, larger than the common room itself, and from the lack of a bed Merlin guessed that it was not even her room. Girls and guys a like stood in crowds, whilst some on the outskirts intertwined in kisses. A familiar boy, with long brown hair, staggered towards them.

"You made it!" Gwaine said, putting his arms around Lancelot and Merlin. "Welcome to heaven."

He led them over to a large group on the dance floor. Morgana danced over to them and took Gwaine's hand, pulling him towards her. She smiled at Lancelot and Merlin before saying.

"Sorry boy's he coming with me." She then pointed to a table and said. "Grab yourselves a drink and make yourselves comfortable."

"Oi Lance." A voice called from behind them.

Arthur and the other members of the rugby team approached him. They were all dressed to impress, in chinos and collared shirts, but the way in which they staggered somehow ruined the effect. This did not stop every single girl, minus Morgana and a select group of her friends, ogling them.

"Oh I see you brought sunshine." Arthur said. "My delightful deb buddy."

"Leave off him Arthur." Lancelot said. "And maybe the booze as well."

Arthur laughed and put his arm around Merlin. Clearly he was drunk, very drunk by the smell of him, and had lipstick on his shirt. The others laughed along with him and pressed beers into his and Lancelot's hands. They spilled it slightly on his shirt but he felt for his safety he should not comment.

"Ok sunshine let's show you how the big boys party." Arthur said.

Merlin didn't know how many drinks they plied him with, it could have only been a few, or it could have been twenty. The room began to spin and before long he found himself on the dance floor with the others. Girls came and went, though they mostly concentrated on Arthur and Lancelot. Gwaine had long since moved on with Morgana and was systematically making his way through all of the girls in the room- available or already spoken for.

Merlin, dizzy, fell onto a sofa laughing with all the members of the rugby club sprawled around him. It was the closest he had come to bonding with him, and that was a very sad thing indeed. Never before had he had less dignity, and yet somehow he didn't care.

"You're alright sunshine!" Leon said, rolling on the floor.

A girl, not much younger than them, walked up and raised her eyebrows. She was semi-sober, or even completely, and wore a dress down to her knees. She held out a hand to help up Merlin and as he fell onto her she laughed a little. Her dark wavy hair fell onto him before she took him to the sofa.

"I think you've had a little too much to drink." She said.

"I believe the actual thing is that you haven't had enough." Arthur said from behind her.

The girl turned to face him and sneered. Her face twisted by the ugly look on her face lead to several comments from the surrounding girls. Merlin sat on the sofa, his head spinning as faces surrounding him, judgemental faces. They weren't staring at him though, they were staring at her.

"Ah Arthur Pendragon...still a misogynous prat?" She asked.

Merlin let out a little fleeting laugh. The members of the rugby team in ear shot gasped in humour and looked at their swaying captain. He didn't seem bothered though as he walked up to her, his head held in mock pride, and bent down to her level.

"Still a loser Guinevere?" Arthur said

Several of the girls around giggled amongst themselves. Arthur rose up his arms and fell into the hands of yet another blonde girl. They both held each other messily as they made their way to the dance floor. Gwen shook her head, small tears forming in her eyes, she bent to speak to Merlin.

"Beware of him." Gwen whispered to Merlin. "He's not the kind of guy you want to trust, if you know what I mean."

Merlin didn't quite listen to Gwen, his head was spinning too much. The carrots and peas from his dinner were coming back onto his windpipe. Merlin got up, fell back down, and then got up once more. Gwen backed away from him looking like he was mad.

"I think I'm going to be..." He said, staggering over to the window.

Merlin went over the open window and threw up over it. His sick flew and hit the elderly care taker Mr Brown who looked around for the culprit. Merlin widened his eyes and ducked. The caretaker mumbled and walked on muttering things about 'those darn kids' but the others were not so unobservant.

"Merlin's chucked up on the caretaker!" Percival shouted.

And with that the whole room cheered, and several members of the rugby team patted him on the back. Girls surrounded him, laughing and giggling at his 'wit' and by the end of the party everyone had either congratulated him verbally or physically in some cases. The only one who didn't cheer was Howard Vailant, who stood in the corner staring at Arthur with a small smirk on his face.

* * *

**Gwen's been introduced so now**

**Thank you for reading :)**

**LISM**


End file.
